I have 25 Rhode Island Red hens. They are all from the same hatching, from the same flock, and hatched on the very same day – March 15, 2021. When day-old chicks, they traveled to my house in the same box, croweded together against each other. When they arrived, they all drank the same water I set before them and each and every one ate the same grain I gave them. Now, they all look so much alike that I can hardly tell them apart.
However, they can definitely distinguish themselves from one another. In fact, they do not seem to tolerate distinctions among themselves and try to enforce conformity. For example, I noticed that one has a crippled leg and walks with a limp. She seems a bit smaller than the others and the others pick on her and run her away from the flock. Another one has a bad eye and some of them will chase her from the feeder. When I scatter grain on the ground, each one runs to it and gobbles up as much as possible as quickly as possible, crowding out all others.
It appears that these hens do not have any concern for each other! When I threw a bad tomato into their pen, one grabbed it and ran while all the other chased her to get it for themselves. If I am near when one of them attacks another, I grab her by the neck and send her away. They would make me so happy if they would stop picking on those who are different in some way. As they are all of the same flock, don’t they realize that whatever helps one, helps them all? If they would only behave in ways to support and help one another, it would make them all happier, and even healthier. I am hoping to see the day when the flock will take grain to the little crippled hen or some of them protecting the one-eyed hen on her blind side. But alas, will that day ever come or am I expecting too much?!
I wish that every hen understood that I only want what is best for each one, but when I go to medicate the one with the bad eye, she always runs and it is a fight to put the medicine in her eye.
One great characteristic of the chickens is that they seem to be very forgiving of each other and of me. No matter what I do to one, she will always be right at my feet when I enter the pen. When one is driven away, it will always return to the flock. When one has a sweet morsel of food taken from it, she will get right back into the chase for more goodies. It is great to see them all enter the house and roost right against each other at night.